Obama Continues Dance on Health Option

The White House fell into full retreat yesterday from its earlier surrender of Democratic plans for a massive new government-run insurance agency as part of its health-care reform bid.

The Obama administration now says it remains fully behind the idea of a “public option” for government-run insurance, despite clear signals over the weekend from top officials that the public option is not a deal-breaker and is just a “sliver” of the overall reforms it seeks.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs blamed the media for misunderstanding the administration’s support.